Paris La Défense Arena is a multipurpose

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

Nanterre Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, b ...

, a western suburb of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Opened in October 2017, it was developed by the

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

club

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French professional rugby union club based in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Paris' western inner Banlieue, suburbs that competes in Top 14. The club plays its home matches at the 30,681-capacity Stadium#Types, domed stadium Pa ...

, and replaced

Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir The Stade Yves-du-Manoir (officially Stade olympique Yves-du-Manoir, also known as the Stade olympique de Colombes, or simply Colombes to the locals) is a rugby, track, and association football stadium in Colombes, near Paris, France, Paris, Fra ...

as their home. It is Europe's largest indoor arena. Its

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

are held by Paris La Défense, the management company of the nearby

La Défense La Défense () is a major business district in France's Paris metropolitan area, west of the city limits. It is located in Île-de-France region's Departments of France, department of Hauts-de-Seine in the Communes of France, communes of Courbe ...

business district. The venue offers three separate configurations. In its rugby configuration, it has a nominal

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 30,681. For

concerts A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

, the original capacity was 40,000, but it was upgraded to 45,000 in 2024. Finally, a movable stand allows it also to be used for a variety of indoor sports, at various capacities, with a capacity of as low as 5,000 being possible. The venue also includes of office space, 300 student rooms, and shops, including a club shop, a brewery, and a gourmet restaurant. It hosted

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

and

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

and

at the

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

History

The arena was originally planned to open in 2014. Still, that date was delayed due to local protests. The venue was initially planned to have a retractable roof, but it was ultimately built with a fixed roof instead. It eventually opened in October 2017, although Racing 92 played their first home game in the new arena when they hosted

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

on 22 December 2017. The arena's working name was changed from "Arena92" to "U Arena"; referencing the configuration of the main stands, and the structure's shape, when viewed from the air, in November 2016. The name was changed a second time to the current Paris La Défense Arena on 12 June 2018. This followed a 10-year

agreement with Paris La Défense. This company manages the nearby

business district.

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

were the first band ever to perform a

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

at the venue, closing their Europe-only

No Filter Tour The No Filter Tour was a European/North American concert tour by the Rolling Stones which began on 9 September 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. The tour was scheduled to conclude in 2020 but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour ...

, with three shows, on 19, 22, and 25 October 2017. The arena's first

match, took place on 25 November 2017 between

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. On 11 March 2018, the French professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

clubs

Nanterre 92 Nanterre 92 is a professional basketball club from the city of Nanterre (a western suburb of Paris), France. The club has played in French basketball league system, the top-tier level basketball league in France, the LNB Pro A, Pro A, since 2011. ...

and

ASVEL Basket ASVEL Basket, currently known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team located in the commune of Villeurbanne, a suburb of Lyon, France. The club, which is the basketball section of the ASVEL multi-sports ...

, played each other in a

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

2017–18 season game. The game had 15,220 in attendance, the highest in the league's history. In 2017, the Paris Supercross moved from Bercy to Nanterre, as the venue could host a more traditional Supercross, compared to an Arenacross configuration.Chase Stall
What To Watch For At Paris Supercross
Racer X Online, 15 November 2018 In 2024, ahead of

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

's four-date stop, as part of The Eras Tour, the capacity was upgraded to 45,000.

Entertainment events

Gallery

File:UArena Nanterre.jpg, File:France 98 v FIFA 98, 12 June 2018 (1).jpg, File:U Arena @ Nanterre @ Rooftop observatory @ Grande Arche @ La Défense @ Paris (34797770160).jpg, File:Guns N' Roses live 2023 6.jpg, File:2024 Swimming at the 2024 Summer Olympics - 2024-07-27 - 3.jpg,

References

External links

*
Stadium information
Le Monde {{Authority control 2017 establishments in France Venues of the 2024 Summer Olympics Basketball venues in France Covered stadiums Olympic swimming venues Olympic water polo venues Racing 92 Music venues in France Music venues completed in 2017 Rugby union stadiums in France Sports venues completed in 2017 Sports venues in Hauts-de-Seine 21st-century architecture in France

History

Entertainment events

Gallery

See also

References

External links